The competition for the French presidency entered its decisive phase on Sunday, with 74-year-old President Jaques Chirac due to announce in an evening television address whether he would stand for another term in office in the April elections, according to dpa. French media were united in their belief that the conservative politician was unlikely to stand for re-election after 12 years in the Elysee Palace. The media are eager to find out, however, whether Chirac is going to back Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy as the conservative presidential candidate. Up to now, Chirac has denied support to his former confidant. The main candidates in the presidential race besides Sarkozy are socialist competitor Segolene Royal and centrist Francois Bayrou of the Union for French Democracy (UDF), who had started as an outsider.
